Palin a Friend of Big Oil?

Count me among those stunned by McCain’s pick for his VP candidate. It neutralizes the strongest argument he had against Obama: Not enough experience. Never again can he utter these words. Further, I can’t comprehend her as president (and with McCain’s age, I think we would have a fair chance of seeing that happen). I think the job is over her head, and I have witnessed the carnage several times when people step into a job over their heads. Imagine letting a first year medical school student do your heart transplant, and you start to get the picture.

I have also heard several people today refer to her as a friend of Big Oil. Ha! She has been called the Hugo Chavez of Alaska for her approach to oil companies (particularly her threats to tear up existing contracts). A story from CNN today explains:

Palin also raised taxes on oil companies after Murkowski’s previous tax regime produced falling revenues in 2007, despite skyrocketing oil prices. Alaska now has some of the highest resource taxes in the world. Alaska’s oil tax revenues are expected to be about $10 billion in 2008, twice those of previous year. BP says about half its oil revenues now go to taxes, when royalty payments to the state are included. Earlier this week, Palin approved gas tax relief for Alaskans, and paid every resident $1,200 to help ease their fuel-price burden.

Sure, she favors drilling in ANWR, but a friend of Big Oil? Please. A recent story in the Anchorage Daily News referred to her as “an anti-oil, tax-and-spend liberal with a nice smile and a pretty face.” With her on the ticket, now 3 of the 4 presidential/vice-presidential candidates are openly hostile to oil companies.

I have written about Palin previously, specifically highlighting the Hugo Chavez comparison (not that I originated it):

I know some disagree (in fact, some of my closest friends – Republicans and Democrats – think the pick is brilliant), but I think after the dust settles this looks like Dan Quayle all over again. People are going to seriously question McCain’s judgment over this. The most important question to ask when picking a vice-presidential candidate is – Is this person ready to be president?